Gridlock in
country's hospitals over 'bed blockers'
By Eilish
O'Regan Health Correspondent
Thursday September 24 2009
More than 144,000
bed days were lost to hospitals during the first half of the year because
hundreds of patients fit for discharge could not be transferred elsewhere.
The worst-hit
hospitals were also those that frequently have the longest queues in A&E
departments every day because there are not enough beds to admit patients from
trolleys.
The worst affected
was St James's Hospital in
This was followed
by
Fine Gael TD Dr
James Reilly, who obtained the figures, said the failure to transfer patients
to suitable facilities outside hospital was causing gridlock.
It follows
revelations in the Irish Independent last week that the number of bed blockers
has escalated by 58pc in the past two years, with 899 people now wrongly
detained in acute hospitals.
Dr Reilly said the
loss of bed days in the first half of this year amounted to an increase of 70pc
on comparable 2008 figures. He predicted if this trend continues the number of
bed days lost will top 360,000 in the full year.
Trend
"The true
meaning of these figures must be understood. The number of bed days lost to
delayed discharges is like one of our major hospitals being closed down for a
year.
"I dislike
the term 'bed blockers' but there is no doubt the health service is effectively
gridlocked.
"Patients
can't get in on one end or out on the other. This entails a massive waste of
resources as well as seriously hindering the recovery of patients who require
discharge to appropriate rehabilitation, convalescent or supported homecare
settings."
Asked to comment,
the Health Service Executive (HSE) said last night that as of this week there
are 743 of these patients who no longer need to be in hospital.
"The average
number of delayed discharges for the month of August was 914. Comparing this
week's figure of 743 to the average for August of 914 shows a decrease of
18.7pc
"
-
Eilish O'Regan Health Correspondent